World Thinking Day

When I was a wee lass, I was a Girl Scout.

Actually, since I was only ever a Girl Scout Junior (never a Brownie or anything else), and back in the 1980s Juniors were girls in grades 4 - 6, I suppose it wasn't so much that I was a Girl Scout as a wee lass, as it was that I was a Scout as a moderate-height-but-still-skinny lass.

I don't actually remember a whole lot about being a Scout. I do remember selling cookies, and earning a bunch of badges (the last of which I just sewed on my old sash last weekend. 23 years later.) I remember going  to day camp and making a really nice woven basket that is still on my dresser to this day. I remember my troop going on a hiking trip to a local mountain on a cold, rainy fall day. I had a uniform - sash, green and blue polyester blouse, and a little button neck tab/tie thing - but I'm pretty sure there are no pictures that exist of me in said outfit.

After 6th grade, I aged out of Juniors and there was no Cadette troop locally for me to join (and I'm not sure I would have kept going at that time anyway) so I figured my Scouting career was over.

Flash forward 2 decades. Four years ago, I was flipping through the local free newspaper and saw a community announcement for an interest meeting for Girl Scouts, both interested girls and adults were welcome. I had been thinking I wanted to get involved with some form of community service, to give back a bit, so I went to the meeting. The rest is history!

Not having a daughter, I've kind of been able to float around and fit in with troops that didn't have a second or co-leader. Last year, I hooked up with Mrs. J and her troop, and I can say without a doubt that I have definitely found my place! It's a Junior troop, just like I was (although Juniors is now only for grades 4 and 5). The girls are fantastic, really active and interested in learning new things, doing community service, and getting out and doing some of the traditional Girl Scout activities like camping and hiking. 2012 is the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting, and we are planning so pretty big and special ways to celebrate in our troop!

Today, February 22nd, is World Thinking Day. It is the shared birthday of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell, the founder (and wife) of Boy Scouts. They were friends with Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low, and inspired her to found Girl Scouts in 1912. World Thinking Day is a day when Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the world take time to think of their sisters in Scouting, and hopefully spend some time learning about different cultures.

So Happy Thinking Day to all the other Leaders, Scouts, and Guides out there! I am happy to be your sister in Scouting.

Troop 12270, getting a little crazy!

Cranial Equipage

I bought a very Maisie Dobbs* hat at a very Maisie Dobbs price. ($5.08 - Thank you Target clearance section!)

So then I needed a Maisie Dobbs haircut to go with my hat.

The red has toned down a little bit; the above picture was taken the morning after the dye job and I hadn't washed it yet. I am completely in love with the haircut though. I've been thinking about going short for a few months now. Initially I wanted to wait until after Red's wedding, so I could wear it up. Then I wimped out at my next appointment and just went with a trim. This time around, I was planning on just a trim again, until the day of the appointment. I spent lunch Googling around for pictures of short curly/wavy hair bobs, found this photo of the fabulous Maggie Gyllenhaal, and had Kristi chop over a year's worth of growth off hair that night. Love this so much more than any of the short cuts I've had before!

*Maisie Dobbs is the heroine of a series of mystery novels written by Jacqueline Winspear and set in 1930s London. You should check them out!